Dean Wareham & Cheval Sombre share their take on Blaze Foley’s “If I Could Only Fly”

The album will be released October 26 and the duo have unveiled their take on Blaze Foley‘s “If I Could Only Fly” by way of a Dan Huiting directed video. Of the single Wareham notes, “Cheval suggested this haunting Blaze Foley song that was something of a hit for Merle Haggard. It might be Foley’s best song but is not included in the new biopic. Our version is closer to post-punk Manchester than to Texas country.”

Dean Wareham Vs. Cheval Sombre is comprised of 10 tracks that were first released or made popular in the 60’s and 70’s. Blaze Foley released “If I could Only Fly” in 1979. He is the subject of a just-released film directed by Ethan Hawk entitled Blaze.

The duo previously shared “Wayfaring Stranger,” a traditional song that has been covered by many, including Dusty Springfield and Neil Young, and Stereogum said, “Wareham and Sombre’s take on the tune moves with a slow, trembling hum. Wareham’s voice carries the wistful depression of a traveler. The song’s production feels both vintage and contemporarily dreamy.”

The genesis of Dean Wareham Vs. Cheval Sombre can be traced back to the early 2000s when Porpora began writing and recording songs in a studio apartment on the Hudson River, NY. After sending demos to Sonic Boom, recording sessions took place in 2006, supported by guest musicians Dean Wareham and Britta Phillips. His debut album Cheval Sombre was eventually released on Double Feature Records, Wareham’s label. Yet it wasn’t until a decade later when the two decided to take their collaborations one step further with the result being the upcoming LP.

Dean Wareham founded Galaxie 500 and Luna and has made 15 studio albums. One-man-band Cheval Sombre (Chris Porpora) hails from the Hudson River, NY. He has released two prior albums, produced by Sonic Boom with Dean & Britta and Andrew VanWyngarden and Ben Goldwasser of MGMT.

Dean and Chris recorded this album of western-themed songs at Palmetto Recordings in downtown Los Angeles with producer Jason Quever (Papercuts, Beach House), backed by a band including Britta Phillips (Luna, Dean & Britta), Anthony LaMarca (the War on Drugs) and Will Halsey (Sugarcandy Mountain).